1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a mattress support in the form of a slatted frame for a bed, having individually mounted support slats which are arranged transversely relative to the lying surface and together form the resting surface for a mattress, for example, wherein
each support slat rests centrally on only one lifting or lowering element (lifting element); PA0 when the resting surface is not loaded, each support slat is in equilibrium, resulting from its weight and a corresponding counter-force, in respect of its height position; PA0 each support slat is displaceable vertically from its position of equilibrium upward or downward within a guide; PA0 all the lifting elements are forcibly connected to one another via a kinematic coupling in such a way that, when only one support slat is loaded, the lowering of said slat from its position of equilibrium by an amount x leads to the lifting of all the other support slats from their position of equilibrium, the sum of all these lifts corresponding approximately to the lowering x in the case of identically dimensioned lifting elements;
2. Description of the Related Art
An embodiment of this type can be seen in DE-AS 1,260,092 (FIG. 1). In this case, the support slats are mounted in a frame so as to be vertically displaceable in vertically extending grooves. Each support slat is fixedly connected in its center to a piston which, in turn, rests on a roller bellows. A shell, extending from the foot end to the head end of the lying surface, bears these roller bellows closely adjacently which guarantee a tight closure of the housing enclosing the medium. Enclosed in the shell is a non-compressible medium, for example water, a container, filled with a compressible medium, for example air, being connected to a branch line, by which means within certain limits a spring mounting is to be achieved on the lying surface. The upper surface of the support slats is covered with foam strips which uninterruptedly cover the entire lying surface and move up and down with the support slats.
In another embodiment disclosed in the prior art document, two bellows are provided for each support slat, which bellows are attached near to the ends of each support slat. The hollow spaces of all the bellows are connected to one another via pipes, a pressure relief valve being connected to this hydraulic system. The bellows are of round construction and have a diameter which is slightly larger than the width of the support slat.
It is also pointed out in the prior art document that the pistons can also be provided with different diameters or with a different active surface so that, for example, the parts of the legs which rest with less force of gravity during use rest on support slats which are subjected to less loading and have pistons with a smaller active surface.
DE-A1-2,832,584 discloses a lying surface consisting of a multiplicity of frame elements arranged in the transverse direction. The frame elements, which are supported by a pressure medium common to all frame elements, can be supported by resilient support elements, which can be mechanical springs or air springs, for the posterior region in addition and parallel to a pressure medium support.
WO 89/01 749 discloses a slatted frame, the slats of which are mounted on the longitudinal frame parts at their ends in the region of the longitudinal frame parts by means of a piston-cylinder arrangement in each case for better balancing of the weight distribution of a human body. For this purpose, the hydraulically or pneumatically acting spaces in the piston-cylinder arrangements are in communication with one another hydraulically or pneumatically.
EP-A2-0,354,271 discloses a slatted frame, in which the slat ends are retained in each case on a resilient device via joints which are formed in each case from a joint pin with a spherical or ellipsoidal joint head and a guide bush, into which the joint head is fitted. In this case, the resilient device of spring-elastic construction consists of an elastic band which is guided over rollers which are arranged rotatably but fixedly on the frame and are arranged on at least both sides of the sites at which the joints are supported.